Speaking about Nahlen’s appointment, Notre Dame’s Vice President for Research Robert J. Bernhard said, “I, along with the wider research and scientific community here at Notre Dame, am thrilled to have a global health leader like Bernard join our team. His vast scientific experience, program management success and international network in the global health field will bring exciting new opportunities to the Eck Institute for Global Health, as well as to a broad range of other research and education programs at the University.”

In addition to his extensive experience serving the PMI, Nahlen’s career, which began as an undergraduate at Notre Dame, has been committed to recognizing health as a fundamental human right and serving those most in need. A medical school graduate of the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, he completed his residency in family practice at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as a second residency in preventive medicine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His career has been spent working to address the many diseases that disproportionately impact people in low- and middle-income countries, including AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

“From his time working in the Los Angeles County AIDS Epidemiology Program, to serving as director of the CDC field research station in Kenya, to his new role here at Notre Dame, Bernard has dedicated his career to being a force for good in the world,” said Mary Galvin, William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science. “His genuine passion for science at Notre Dame, combined with his commitment to students and his transformative vision for global health research at Notre Dame, will help to take our programs to the next level.”